Interactive Avatar iTunes Extras Reveal Making of Sci-Fi World

The special-edition iTunes Extras version of Avatar will let viewers delve deep into Pandora's creation. Photo courtesy 20th Century Fox

Innovative interactive features in a special-edition iTunes release of Avatar will reveal the techniques used by James Cameron in creating his sci-fi opus.

The Avatar iTunes Extras Special Edition lets you switch between various viewing options to see split-screen and picture-in-picture views of the finished product alongside performance-capture filming and visual effects work for 17 key scenes.

With the “scene deconstructions,” viewers will be able to see stars Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana (above) acting in their performance-capture rigs while also watching the computer-generated alien world that was created around them.

The special edition, which 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment calls a first-of-its kind offering, is meant to encourage people to purchase digital versions of the movie, as opposed to, say, streaming the film.

It should serve as an compelling test for just how interested cinema fans are in lean-forward movie watching. Will people want to see behind Cameron’s curtain while watching the film? And, if so, will the appeal be enough to get Avatar fans to cough up $15 (for the 7-GB standard-definition version) or $20 (12-GB high-def version) for a film they probably already spent $20 for on DVD/Blu-ray?

Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure — people are generally willing to drop serious coin on Avatar. The film made nearly $2.8 billion at the box office and set a one-day sales record (1.5 million copies) when it was released on Blu-ray. Which is to say, if any film can get people to consume it in many versions, it’s Avatar.

In addition to the visual effects bells and whistles, the iTunes special edition of the Oscar-winning film also includes 1,700 images and a “scriptment” (a novella-type thingamabob with some of the film’s scenes broken out into dialog).

It’s a lot to pack in one download. For those who’ve never owned Avatar on DVD or Blu-ray, it’s a good way to get a souped-up version on their laptops — even if that will never compare to seeing the movie in 3-D on the big screen.